I would like to draw your attention to the remarks attributed to you in an interview with the Washington Post on 14 February 2013 entitled “Iran could use UN talks as cover to build bomb, Ban Ki-moon says”.

In this regard, I would like to make the following points:

1. If the report of Washington Post is accurate, it would be very unfortunate that the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in contravention of his mandate and against the well-established international principles, apparently has taken a position to the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities.

In the past few days, some western [World Tyrant/NATO] officials have made inappropriate statements on this issue. Unfortunately, the distinguished Secretary-General by taking the same position has risked damaging his credibility before the eyes of the Member States.

2. In the same interview, Washington Post mentions that the Secretary-General has made a reference to his trip to Iran (your Excellency’s trip in August 2012) and it claims that you were not satisfied with the assurances of the Iranian high officials on Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities. This reference seems to be incorrect because I was present in all your meetings with the high officials. Therefore, it is a matter of surprise that the content of the discussions you had with my officials was presented in a distorted and manipulated way.

3. It is more surprising that the article takes the words of the Secretary-General and insinuates that the United Nations Security Council should “show a firm, decisive and effective, quick response” vis-a-vis Iran’s nuclear activities. Again, if this narration is true, it was not indeed expected from the Secretary-General, rather what is expected from him is that he should be more observant of the principles of reliability and fairness and to use his good offices aimed at resolving the international crises and disputes only through diplomacy, dialogue and peaceful means.

are about to resume their talks scheduled to take place on 26 February 2013 in Kazakhstan. At this sensitive juncture, such a position by the Secretary-General goes contrary to the spirit that should prevail before the talks; in order to help the parties to make progress in resolving their differences.

I look forward to working closely with you to address this issue of great concern. Undoubtedly, integrity, transparency, and fairness are key premises on which the Secretary-General should base its approach in discharging its Charter-mandated responsibilities. Our efforts should be directed towards rendering the United Nations more in helping Member States in their joint efforts to solve the global issues in a responsive and accountable manner. I would stand ready to contribute to the achievement of these goals.

An army unit inflicted heavy losses upon terrorists killing many of them, injuring others and destroying a number of their cars with all weapons and ammunition inside in al-Nabek area in Damascus Countryside province.

A military source told SANA that heavy losses were inflicted upon an armed terrorist group, killing all its members in Beir Wadi al Mal to the west of Qara city.

The source added that another army unit killed many terrorists on Rima farms in Yabroud, destroying all their tools used for attacking.

In the same context, units of the Armed Forces targeted terrorists in a series of “qualitative and accurate” operations in the areas of al-Sheifouniyeh farms, Marj al-Sultan and Douma in the eastern Ghouta, destroying their dens and equipment.

An official source told SANA reporter that the army carried out two operations in al-Sheifouniyeh farms and Marj al-Sultan, killing several terrorists.

The source noted that terrorists Basel al-Rifaei, leader of the so-called ‘Lions of God’ battalion, Khaldoun al-Ibrahmaji, Alaa al-Hamrawi, Khaled al-Nahawi and Mohammad al-Sreidan were identified among the dead.

The source also mentioned that another army unit carried out an operation in which it destroyed a den of terrorists in Douma with all the ammunition and weapons inside, including a 23 mm caliber anti-aircraft gun.

Meanwhile, an army unit targeted gatherings for terrorists in two operations in al-Hajar al-Aswad and al-Sbeineh, killing many terrorists and injuring others, including Mohammad al-Mahmoud and Yaser Khalil.

Terrorists Killed during Clashes between Two Terrorist Groups in Damascus Countryside

Several terrorists were killed and injured during clashs erupted between two armed terrorist groups over dividing funds of foreign resource in Babila town in Damascus Countryside Province.

An official source said that the clashes lasted for hours, as different sorts of machineguns were used. The clash resulted in the killing of many terrorists including Mohammad al-Shalah, while others were injured.

Two of the injured were identified as members in al-Qaeda [World Tyrant]-linked jabhal al-Nusra terrorist group. Those are Nasser al-Najjar and another one called Daadoush.

The Iranian Navy plans to establish a new base in Pasabandar, which is located about 30 kilometers [about 18.6 miles] west of Pakistani major port of Gwadar, the commander of the Iranian Navy announced on Sunday.

The Iranian Navy does not currently have a military presence in this area, but it will establish a presence there to better control movements in the region, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told the Persian service of IRNA.

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See: On Line: 17 February 2013 16:06 In Print: Monday 18 February 2013